Having Stuff Mailed To Thailand

[dave9988]

I want to have someone in the USA send me a large amount of candy, cereal and food products, some books and some video games what is the best way for me to make sure all of it arrives.

should i expect to have to pay import tax? i don't really mind but how do they go about calculating the tax owed. where do i pay it?

what is the best tracking service for a large box from usa to thailand?

thanks...

Edited December 6, 2008 by dave9988

[Soutpeel]

I want to have someone in the USA send me a large amount of candy, cereal and food products, some books and some video games what is the best way for me to make sure all of it arrives.

should i expect to have to pay import tax? i don't really mind but how do they go about calculating the tax owed. where do i pay it?

what is the best tracking service for a large box from usa to thailand?

thanks...

Courier only..EMS/DHL/FEDEX

Import tax Yes, On Thai import tax calculations, think the biggest variable they consider is the phases of the moon..

Trick is do not declare the full value of the goods, your proforma invoice should be a nominal amount, also if your video games are on CD or DVD dont count on getting them in, they may confiscate them and you end up jumping through hoops to get them back....happened to me with CD's containing work data when I shipped them into Thailand when I first arrived, took my company the best part of 3 months to get them back...

[bernie66]

I sent my computer and some clothes to myself via DHL. Some yahoo who said he was from the customs authority came with DHL and charged us on the spot. I wonder if he was who he said he was. About 1/3rd the price I claimed.

[NancyL]

We mailed 20 boxes to ourselves via U.S. Global Priority mail when we moved here a few weeks ago. The "large" U.S. Global Priority mail box is 12-in x 12-in x 6-in. Postal service provides the boxes. The cost is just under $50 and there is no weight limit, but they're picky about the box being flat, not overstuffed and held together with tape. I don't know about tracking. I don't think it's as good as the courier services like DHL/FedEx.

We mailed photos, books, kitchen items, souvenirs, basically all our household items that weren't breakable or wasn't anything that we'd need the first couple weeks.

Everything arrived within a week, no damages, no problems. It didn't look like anyone had opened the boxes for inspection or even checked the customs paperwork we filled out at the post office. We didn't declare a value and described the items in only the most general terms like "books-household items". Nobody said anything about paying duties or being from customs.

We had the boxes delivered to our long-stay hotel and the staff was very good about holding (and probably speculating about) the boxes since they got to Chiang Mai before we did.

[Soutpeel]

It didn't look like anyone had opened the boxes for inspection

And most likely they didnt open it, cos they dont need to......there is a thing called an x-ray machine, and they do use them in Thailand for stuff going in and out of Thailand.

[jimmybkk]

I was sending some food items amongst other things to myself from the UK earlier in the year. At the UK post office they checked a list and told me that food items were one of the restricted things that weren't alllowed to be sent to Thailand. I changed the contents description to kitchen utensils and it all arrived OK. It wasn't valuable so I sent it regular airmail.

When I got pool table cloth sent by DHL I had to pay some import tax to the guy who delivered it - not a ridiculous amount and I got an official-looking receipt.

[Kf6vci]

I'm seconding NancyL's experience. That Priority Mail carton is good.

BUT you better have a realible address, like your office.

I had some bad expeirences with private Post Net and other services. In future, I queue at the post office... And look at the prices you pay for candy outside the flat rate boxes.

From Germany, 20 kg are less than 5,000 Baht with insurance. Maybe you can buy that candy somewhere else?

[raylo]

I want to have someone in the USA send me a large amount of candy, cereal and food products, some books and some video games what is the best way for me to make sure all of it arrives.

Courier only..EMS/DHL/FEDEX

Stick to the post - never ever had a problem and use it consistently year in year out.

Only use DHL etc if you really want to pay import duty - as said before "duty calculated on the phases of the moon"

I have used all of the coutrier types in many countries and especially Thailand and always been ripped off unmercifully.

They have an agrreement with a lot of Governments to determine and collect the duty.

One time (DHL this time) charged me duty for all of my used clothing. All of which I had bought in Thailand and could prove (some of) it. Including socks and jocks.

Another time my wife ripped them a new one and I complained to their management when we got charged 20k baht for secondhand personal effects valued at 80k baht. Never ever had CD's DVD's or work related material confiscated and that includes from my movie collection of over 500 DVD's.

Biggest problem I laugh about was having more then 2 speakers in a stereo system. They wanted to charge for the sub, centre and rears

Anyway - Up to you in the end especially if you listen to people who dont live in Thailand or have never used the courier services

[PompeyMatt]

Last year I got a package from the UK containing what I knew to be Christmas prezzies from home. The X-Ray machine must have been on the blink that days, because all of my presents had been opened. I know, I know... it says on the customs label what is in the package, but I deliberatley did not read this to ensure my surprise on Xmas morning. Needless to say that was ruined when I opened that outer packaging to reveal screwed up wrapping paper and my open gifts. Thanks a bunch.

[0Mix1up]

i sent stuff (3 boxes) through the mail service

it was all opened, it all arrived, no duty

1 even contained a laptop!

lucky i spose

[Soutpeel]

Anyway - Up to you in the end especially if you listen to people who dont live in Thailand or have never used the courier services

I agree with almost everything your saying, but I have used both methods, regular post and courier and may be its just me, but on some of the occasions I have had stuff sent regular post it never arrived...to this date still waiting...at least with a courier service,

it will arrive.

On importing personal effects into Thailand, unless you are coming here on a non-imm visa, ie for work etc, you will be charged import tax on personal effects, even coming here on a non-imm visa, you only have 6 months from the time you arrive to import your stuff tax free after which you will be charged as well.

I guess your last sentance was directed at me....I do live in Thailand and have been doing so for last 7 years working and have stuff sent in by courier and normal post all the time, the trick to minimising your import tax is not to state the full value of the goods and get a proforma invoice for a nominal value, that way if you do get sprung by the customs, (trust me it happens with the regular post as well) you will only get hit for tax on the nominal amount, if you keep the value stated below US$ 100, they dont bother with the import tax.

[keestha]

Recently a friend sent me an old laptop, by regular mail, from the Netherlands. I think he put something like "toys" on the package. It arrived OK, and I didn't have to pay any import duties.

What I can say in general about mail delivery in Thailand, is that much depends on your friendly local postman, postwoman or postkatoey. Having lived at various locations in Thailand (city and countryside), I have had periods that the mail always came punctually, but also periods that I waited in vain for weeks for anything to arrive. If the postperson isn't too dilligent or has a workload which is too big, he/she might wait till there is a lot of stuff before making the trip to your front door.